Lebanon VA Medial Center officials on Tuesday dedicated their new $10-million, 12,000-square-foot, post-surgical unit during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Lebanon VA director Jeffrey Beiler II said the new 12,013-square-foot Medical-Surgical Unit should open for patients in January and will provide a modernized area to expand access to inpatient medical and surgical services at Lebanon VA Medical Center.
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“After you’ve had a chance to see this new space, I hope you agree that it is truly state-of-the-art, which our veterans certainly deserve,” said Beiler during remarks to the assembled audience of state and local elected officials, VAMC staff and the press.
Beiler added the $10,024,000 million medical-surgical unit represents a commitment to providing comprehensive, accessible, and compassionate care to those who have served their country. The unit will specialize in a range of pre-surgical and post-surgical services with advanced telemetry technology and data storage.
The new med-surg unit will provide 16 patient rooms including two bariatric rooms and two isolation rooms. In addition to the new private patient rooms, the unit will also feature offices, storage rooms, sterile storage, a consult room, and a nourishment room. The new space is connected to the intensive care unit and is near the facility’s emergency department.
“It is nice that it is connected to our ICU and closer to our emergency department as well,” said Beiler. “It increases the ability to transfer quickly into this med-surg department. I’m confident that the men and women who receive their care here will be deeply satisfied and a little more than impressed. Not specifically because of the space, which is beautiful, but because of the men and women who have the privilege of serving our veterans in this space. We’re focused on taking care of our veterans every single day.”
During a tour that followed remarks and a press briefing, LebTown asked about the spacious area inside each room. A VA official told LebTown that each room, which includes a full bath, is 175 square feet, which is nearly twice the size of existing rooms (96 square feet) elsewhere on the Lebanon VAMC’s campus.
In addition to a full-size bed, there is a work area for staff that includes a sink, a patient’s clothes closet, drawer for personal belongings, and two chairs, including one that reclines. The full-size bathroom contains an in-room shower with a floor drain situated near the sink and commode.
Beiler told LebTown that patients are expected to be housed between two and five days in a unit that’s designed for patients who don’t require intensive care but need more than intermediate care.
“I’m more than excited to open this new space to provide these services in, really, state-of-the-art facilities,” said Beiler. “Again, one of the things that Lebanon has consistently done is renovate our space and keep up with modern technology. And that’s important because our veterans deserve no less than what they can get in the private sector.”
Ashley Klick, associate director of Patient Care Services at the Lebanon VAMC, said the new center complements the staff who deliver services to their patients.
“Veterans and their loved ones will not find any more dedicated or devoted staff to provide care to them,” said Klick. “Because of our work, we recognize the cost that’s been paid by veterans in securing our freedom and protecting our way of life. There’s no greater debt that any of us have paid than our veterans. We’re witness to the wounds they have received, both visible and invisible, and the stress they have endured for their loved ones, and, yes, also for their fellow citizens they’ll never know.”
Klick noted that the new med-surg unit is a continuation of VAMC’s journey to deliver the very best care to America’s veterans.
“The outstanding care that our nurses, physicians and other members of our clinical team have been recognized by our veterans in our in-patient survey forms,” said Klick. “Lebanon VA veterans continue to rate their inpatient care well above the national average across the VA.”
Following remarks, which included proclamations from state government officials and two of the three county commissioners, Beiler and Klick cut a red ribbon to formally christen the new unit.
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